MASHitUP - The Young Punx featuring Laura Kidd

By warriorgrrl | July 22, 2008

MASHitUP is out now in Japan, heading up The Young Punx mini album One Point Five. The video, shot back in May, has been given the coveted newcomers slot on Space Shower TV which means it’s on air about 20 times a day at the moment!

I made a behind the scenes video blog, check it out [the finished video is below]:

And here’s the finished video, directed by James Cumpsty and Hal Ritson and animated by Han Hoogerbrugge.

If anyone from Japan is reading, konichiwa and thank you very much for visiting! I am going to be in Tokyo this weekend, funnily enough…more about that soon…

Topics: Music, Video | No Comments »

so i return :::

By warriorgrrl | June 13, 2008

There has been a break in transmission. White noise and static. Normal service is to be resumed.

Much has happened: work trips away, a birthday and lots of thinking.

Turning 27 made me assess a lot of things in my life. It’s easy to think I’m in control of certain situations when really I’m in limbo. Easy to think friends will grow and move in the same directions as me, when often they don’t. Easy to assume my goals are the same now as when I was 18. It doesn’t feel like nine years have passed since I moved to the big city to kickstart the big music career I always wanted but they have, and while it’s been a mostly great experience and an action packed rollercoaster of an almost-decade, there’s a lot to get in order.

But to the present…and I’ve had a very interesting day. Lately I’ve been frequenting The Tuttle Club more and more as I build up relationships with new friends and cement older friendships (all awesome), and I’m always pleased by the conversations I end up having with people. Social media is a great leveller and I love being able to strike up a conversation with big and little fish alike, never having to worry whether what I can offer them will be good enough (either conversationally or, potentially, workwise), whether I’m too young, too female, too red of hair…

Today Toby facilitated a discussion about social media and the space that the sort of people who go to the Tuttle occupy in the business world. I like the analogy that we’re prospectors sailing the ocean strong and independent, zigzagging between islands (businesses) and connecting them up through what we do. And I love that we’re putting all this stuff in to words. I’m inspired by the incredibly bright, prolific people I’ve met through it: sizemore, londonfilmgeek, Steve Lawson, lobeliasabo, Documentally, whatleydude, Joshua March and the aforementioned Toby to name just a few.

What is social media to me? It’s the way I do most of my communication. It’s a creative outlet, a way of keeping track of what I’m doing, a way of developing fledgling friendships. It shows me there are other people out there doing some of the same things I am, it leads me to their work so I can get inspired and sometimes it puts me in touch with people I can work with. The world’s a lonely place and London can be unfriendly, but social media allows me to set up an outpost and send messages out, red flags in a map, buoys in a barren sea.

I am here. I exist. I create. Talk to me.

Topics: Blogging, Ramblings | 4 Comments »

the race is finally run! :::

By warriorgrrl | May 26, 2008

Today I ran the inaugural BUPA London 10,000 road race. At 10km it’s the furthest I’ve ever run and I’m pleased to announce I ran it all without stopping and came in two minutes under my target time of an hour and ten minutes. It was all quite enjoyable really, despite the torrential rain that soaked through all my clothes before I even got to the start line, and I’m definitely interested in doing a longer race later in the year.

I treated myself to a lovely hot bath and some dry socks when I got home and have been munching through various carb heavy snacks all afternoon to keep my strength up. What a great excuse to eat tortilla chips and chocolate!

I video blogged the whole thing, as is my wont:

I thought you might be interested to know what music accompanied me round the city streets - I really don’t think I could have done it without the following top tunes:

1. Supervixen - Garbage
2. Wind It Up - Gwen Stefani
3. I’m A Slut - bis
4. Channels - Popular Workshop
5. Date With The Night - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
6. Get Off - Dandy Warhols
7. Vorvolaka - Die So Fluid
8. Little Sister - Queens of the Stone Age
9. Hot Ride - The Prodigy
10. Alala - CSS
11. Alice Practice - Crystal Castles
12. Icky Thump - The White Stripes
13. It’s Getting Boring By The Sea - Blood Red Shoes
14. Semi-Mental - Biffy Clyro
15. Sour Cherry - The Kills
16. Hysteria - Muse
17. My Love Is Pink - Sugababes
18. Vulcan - Snake River Conspiracy
19. Succexy - Metric
20. The Hand That Feeds - Nine Inch Nails

I wanted to wear my lovely war paint but it’s water soluble, so I just had to be content with having mascara streaming down my (very smug) face instead. Pretty!

Thank you to everyone who sponsored me to do this, I raised over £300 in the end and couldn’t have done it without Annie Mole, delboydare, Denrael, Kai Chan Vong, Kyle MacRae, Andrew, Hinchcliffe, Mum & Dad, Tez, kymmie, Sevitz, Shena & James, Lizzie, Jess McCabe, Matt Grounds, Lorraine Burlingham, Tess & Kev, Walid, Christine Greathead, Michael Lyons, Rob Drayton, James Whatley, Kate Burgess, Rachel Willis-Bartlett, Tom Bosworth, Ed, brooner, Julia and Gran. Thanks everyone!!!

Topics: Charity, Photo Post, Video | 4 Comments »

laura likes to… :::

By warriorgrrl | May 16, 2008

I never get tagged with memes and such (which is probably for the best since I’d usually never have time to respond) but I was just reading Anna’s blog and loved the idea of the meme she got tagged with recently. I’m in the market for some pointless fun to cheer me up after an emotionally tough week, so here goes:

All you have to do is type “[your name] likes to” in to a search engine and copy and paste the results, here goes:

Laura likes to be admired.
Yes I suppose I do, I’m not ashamed. Don’t we all?

Laura likes to watch the boys play. Actually, I think she likes to watch anybody play, as long as one of them is tied up.
This is not the time or place for naughty fetishes, but I did lift an eyebrow and smile when I read this one.

Laura likes to mix things up.
I like this one too. It sounds carefree, something I hope to be again sometime soon.

Laura likes to reminisce about times spent gesticulating at others from the driver’s seat of the car she used to own when she was solvent.
The only time I owned a car I wasn’t particularly solvent, actually. It only cost £195 from the side of the road in Morden, and was a marvellous machine: a 1987 Ford Capri, black. I was a bit crap at driving it, partly because it was so very long and partly because I had no idea what to do with a manual choke. Cue lots of breakdowns through a bitter winter.

Laura likes to dance and she does it so gracefully across the living room floor.
Yes she does, but no she doesn’t. Dancing is most definitely not a graceful thing that I do. Think Chandler from Friends x 5 with an even more goofy, self-satisfied smile to accompany all the lumbering about: brilliant fun but ultimately nothing I’m going to win prizes or admirers for.

Laura likes to wear pastels.
She most certainly does not!

Laura likes to curl her luscious long mane into well formed stunning spiral curls.
I wish! I’ve always wanted long hair, ever since I sort of had mid-length hair then cut it off aged 16 to Sinead O’Connor-esque proportions, or probably more accurately Dolores O’Riordan. My hair is not luscious, long or in any way spiral.

Laura likes to read dog books.
Absolutely true. Recent faves are It’s Me Or The Dog and Mother Knows Best.

Laura likes to go in-line skating for fun.
Well, after going to all the trouble of taking a rollerblade course last year I really should get in to it again now the weather’s improving. Scabeous knees, come on down!

That was fun - now it’s your turn

Topics: Ramblings | 2 Comments »

hey yo :::

By warriorgrrl | May 12, 2008

Wow, it’s been a long time since I blogged. I’ve been busy working, being ill, getting annoyed at Londoners for not bothering to vote, getting annoyed at Londoners for voting “funny”, trying to get back on track with my running in time for the 10K race on 26th, drumming up sponsorship for said race, playing covers gigs up and down the country, trying to decide what to do for my fast approaching birthday, auditioning for someone rather wonderful and taking lots of nice walks in beautiful hot sunshine with the lovely Benji. Oh, and dying my hair fire engine red:

[hair by the awesome Viv and Maria at Mahogany, actually…]

Homework for tomorrow night’s puppy class was to teach a trick of your choice, so my wonder dog has learned how to give the paw to the command “high five”. He also started trying to hump my leg a couple of minutes ago. Puppified innocence is fading fast!

How are you?

Topics: Charity, News, Photo Post, Puppy | No Comments »

a healthy snack :::

By warriorgrrl | April 24, 2008

It’s been chucking it down all morning so I haven’t been able to get out running yet…I think I’ll push it back to tomorrow morning and get some much-needed yoga in this evening instead.

SPONSORSHIP UPDATE: Thanks to my darling parents my total has leapt to £79.99 - since I only made the Just Giving page last weekend I’m quite surprised and very pleased about that. Thank you all!

Topics: Charity, Puppy, Video | 2 Comments »